Tom Ammiano of San Francisco (D) who was newly elected to California Assembly took the oath of office in the Assembly Chambers at the State Capital Building in Sacramento, Calif., on December 1, 2008.
Ran on: 04-12-2009
Tom Ammiano (left) took the oath of office in the Assembly Chambers on Dec. 1.

California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, started a national conversation by introducing a bill to legalize and tax marijuana for recreational use in California. In the days afterward, even Fox News commentator Glenn Beck said, "It is about time we legalized marijuana."

While Ammiano's bill, introduced in February, has sparked cable and blog chatter and supportive editorials from around the world, it hasn't received a single co-sponsor. He pulled it from a committee hearing scheduled for late March - he said it was scheduled without his knowledge - and plans to hold a hearing in late fall or early winter. The measure is now a two-year bill, giving the freshman legislator through next year to build support.

Few doubt Ammiano's political bravery in introducing legislation that challenges one of society's long-standing taboos - he calls it the "wink-wink" attitude many have toward weed. But is the former stand-up comedian and first-term legislator representing one of the most liberal parts of the country the right person to lead the fight for pot legalization?

Can a longtime San Francisco supervisor convince his conservative colleagues from districts that don't have dozens of pot clubs that they're not taking a political risk by supporting a bill the state Board of Equalization says could raise more than $1 billion in revenue for a cash-starved state?

"Oh, don't underestimate me, pal," Ammiano said. He isn't concerned about not having co-sponsors so early in the process, especially for a highly detailed bill that could be reviewed by three different Assembly committees. Privately, he has been having conversations with his more conservative colleagues, many of whom he said are telling him, " 'Great idea - I don't think I can vote for it yet.' I think they need the assurance of their constituents that they won't be thrown out of office, which I think would be highly unlikely. They won't be thrown out of office for this."

Economic, social benefits

So he hopes to appeal to them either with the economic benefits of legalization or with the prospect of reducing drug-related violence. When he lobbies legislators from the more rural districts, he explains how legalization could reduce the growing operations of international drug cartels.

The bill couldn't come at a friendlier time for pot legalization. Days after it was introduced, the Obama administration's Justice Department said states should make their own rules regarding medical marijuana - a change from the previous two administrations.

While several recent polls have shown an rise in the percentage of respondents who would support legalizing pot, GOP consultant Rob Stutzman doesn't sense a grassroots hunger for legislation.

"People who want to use marijuana are finding it and not having that much trouble using it," said Stutzman, who advises GOP gubernatorial hopeful Meg Whitman (who he said opposes legalization).

But Ammiano replied, "If we're hemorrhaging money and doing this wink-wink, nod-nod all these years, it's about time we start harvesting this. And admit to the fact that it's going to be around and if we regulate and tax it, and decriminalize it, we could have not only an economic benefit but a policy benefit."

Politically, such an effort would be challenging, Stutzman said, as Ammiano's political pedigree "does allow the issue to be compartmentalized as a very left-wing, San Francisco idea. If there was a legislator from Fresno or even suburban Los Angeles sponsoring it, it might be a little different."

Vasconcellos' early effort

Five years ago, former state Sen. John Vasconcellos, D-Santa Clara, had similar legislation drafted. But Vasconcellos, one of the most powerful legislators in Sacramento with nearly 40 years of service, never introduced it.

He wasn't shy about taboo-shaking legislation. He sponsored "The California Task Force to Promote Self-esteem and Personal and Social Responsibility" and proposed that 14-year-olds be allowed to vote. But he told The Chronicle that he pulled the pot bill because he felt critics would revive their prediction that medical cannabis - which he long championed - was merely a tactic to eventually legalize weed.

"Tom has always been a courageous spokesperson for cutting-edge issues in San Francisco," Gieringer said. As for whether that ability translates to a statewide stage, Gieringer said, "He may be ideologically and culturally polarizing, but personally, he's not."

Gieringer cautions that moving this bill forward will take time, noting that medical marijuana took several years to take hold statewide in California. Now, 13 states have legalized medical marijuana. "This," he said, "goes deeper than Tom Ammiano."